The present invention is an improvement over the harness construction as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,851 which is specifically designed for supporting the weight of the body of a patient on a device used for rehabilitation and physical therapy purposes. This prior art harness is made from soft fabric material which causes serious problems in use. The fabric which forms the lumbar support belt and the thigh wraps of this prior art harness tends to bunch up when supporting the weight of a patient so that undesirable areas of high pressure are created in localized areas on the patients body. Accordingly, the patient""s weight is not well distributed and there is a tendency for the harness material to pinch the skin of the patient. This is, of course, very undesirable.
Furthermore, the patented harness employs a pair of shoulder straps which tend to squeeze the shoulders of the patient when suspended in the harness.
A primary objective of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art discussed above and provide a harness which successfully distributes the weight of the patient over a wide area and prevents any bunching up of the weight supporting portions of the harness disposed adjacent the patient""s body, and which eliminates pinching of the patient""s skin. Additionally, the suspension strap means of the invention prevents any squeezing of a patient""s shoulders when suspended within the harness.
The harness of the invention comprises a torso support portion and a pair of thigh support portions which are connected to the torso support portion and depend therefrom. Each of these support portions is formed of an outer layer of hard relatively stiff molded plastic material of limited flexibility and an inner layer of relatively soft cushioning material. This construction ensures that there will be no bunching up of these components when supporting a patient, thereby distributing the weight over a wide area and preventing pinching of the patient""s skin. Although the outer layer is hard, the inner layer is sufficiently soft so that it can conform to the contours of a patient""s body and will be comfortable in use.
The torso support portion of the invention has opposite free sides, and is so constructed and arranged that the parts of the torso support portion adjacent to the free sides thereof overlap one another in operative position on the torso of a patient. This ensures that the torso of the patient will not be pinched and the patient""s weight is distributed over a maximum area of the torso support portion.
The thigh support portions of the invention also each have opposite free sides, but these support portions which have a lesser weight support function than the torso support portion are so constructed and arranged that the free sides thereof are spaced from one another a substantial distance to ensure that the thighs of a patient will not be pinched.
The suspension strap means of the present harness includes four spaced suspension straps which are connected to the torso support portion at widely spaced points. The suspension straps are disposed substantially vertically from the torso support portion and are spaced from the shoulders of a patient, thereby ensuring that there will be no squeezing of the shoulders when the harness is in operative position.
Since the thigh support portions include an outer layer formed of a hard relatively stiff molded plastic material of limited flexibility, a special provision must be made to accommodate a catheter which is often present when treating the type patients with spinal cord injuries and the like. Normally, the patient will wear some sort of pants, and if a catheter is present, it will be under the pants. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a channel extending from the top edge to the bottom edge of one of the thigh support portions for receiving the material of the pants and the catheter so that the catheter is not damaged during use of the harness. Such a channel is provided as an integral part of one of the thigh support portions of the harness
Additionally, the thigh support portions are provided on the outer surface thereof with fastening portions for fastening the thigh support portions to a powered gait orthosis device.